Hey guys, it's time for another chapter! I'm hoping to maybe finish the majority of Zeffo in this chapter but we'll see. The story is definitely picking up when it comes to numbers so that's always good! Thanks to everyone who followed or favorited the story. If you have any ideas, don't be afraid to tell me! Finally, please review or comment on the story and here's the chapter!


Ch. 7: Finding the Zeffo Tomb

(Luna's POV)

This was it. We had reached an imperial base. There was no telling how many stormtroopers were in there potentially waiting for us. Cal moved to open the door but a beeping sound stopped him in his tracks.

"Uhhh…"

The door beeped again and stayed closed, meaning you needed a scomp link to get inside. BD-1's scomp link was broken from what happened in Bogano so we weren't getting in this base.

"How anti-climatic," I jested with my palm against my face. Cal put his hands on his hips and gazed at the scomplink for a second before turning to me.

"Welp...Whatever, let's go."

He walked past me as I couldn't help but giggle.

"To be honest, I didn't really feel like invading an Imperial base right now anyway."

"Is there any time you would feel like invading an Imperial base?" he asked with a smile forming on his face.

"Um...Probably not," I laughed, followed by him laughing as well.

"Fair enough. Let's climb this pipe to that ledge over there."

He pointed up at a pipe that wrapped around the building and ended at a new area we hadn't been to before. He jumped up and grabbed the pipe like you would with monkey bars and began shifting himself to the other side. I did the same and cringed at the coldness of the metal. I started to shift myself around the pipe until I noticed the windows in front of us. Inside were a few stormtroopers just standing around.

"Crap, Cal, what if they see us?"

"It should be fine. What are they gonna do? Climb up after us?"

I snickered and went back to climbing. Compared to how they used to be, these stormtroopers were pretty weak. The problem with them is that there's so many of them that it doesn't even matter. Also, some of them have mini guns. I don't like the ones with the mini guns...

Cal and I dropped off at the end of the pipe and found a large slide of ice again. Being the adventurous bunch that we were, we decided to jump onto it and see where it took us. It was entirely possible that it led off a cliff and we would fall to our deaths but, hey, you only live once! Rather than a cliff, the slide led to an upper ledge of the area we had just been in. Up top was a hill with another trooper standing beside the entrance to a smaller base. I was going to kill him with my lightsaber but another rat popped out from the ground and headbutted him off the edge of where he was standing.

"You know, you would think they would not stand at the edge of a deadly abyss," I commented to Cal. He looked at me with skepticism.

"Yeah, I mean, that would be the most logical thing to do."

I fought back a laugh and walked up the hill to the small base. The Scazz rat ran off somewhere at the sign of my presence. Like the caves in the area, this base was dark with only the light of buttons on computers giving us any hint of light. There was a message on one of the counters that I managed to spot through all this darkness.

"Hey, Cal, look at this."

I picked up the paper message and scanned through it.

"What's it say?" he asked. I handed the paper to him and he read through it. "...Project Auger...I guess they thought this planet would give them a lot of important resources but apparently not. That's what they get for preying on an innocent planet."

He tossed the paper to the ground and looked toward the other side of the base. It leads back outside and around the corner to a place we haven't been yet. There's so much to explore, it's kind of overwhelming. When we get to the Zeffo tomb I'll probably be saying the same thing again. Living in the city for five years has kind of altered my sense of exploration. Being out here is both exhilarating and scary at the same time. It helps that Cal's here with me though. I heard a faint voice coming from the outside when we stepped towards it and I stopped Cal in his place.

He gave me a puzzled look and I pointed my finger out in front of us.

"I think there might be more stormtroopers out there," I whispered quietly.

"Ohhh…" he whispered back in understanding. We moved slowly to where the growing voice was coming from and sure enough there were two troopers talking with one another.

"So, then I asked the Emperor if he had ever been with two women at the same time. He told me he had been with four women at one point in his life!" One of them said.

"For real? Damn, bro, that's crazy," the other trooper said.

Cal and I exchanged looks and took them out soon after that. They weren't much of a fight for us. Cal clicked the button on his lightsaber to turn it off and stretched his arms out.

"Good job paying attention, Luna. I didn't even hear them when I was in there."

"Thanks! I knew I heard something right after we read that note. These guys were really lame...I mean, what were they even talking about? The Emperor being a player or something? That's freaking gross."

Cal smiled and shook his head.

"Yeah, I don't even want to think about that. The guy's gotta be like eighty by now."

A shiver ran through my body and I trembled a bit. Cal did the same and we continued on, trying not to think about the thought of that anymore. That wasn't too hard once we saw what was ahead. A while ago, I saw these rocket-like objects shooting out of the wall in the distance. Well, now we've reached them. Up close, they were even more intimidating. And loud.

"Let's be extra careful with this. Don't know what I would do if you got crushed," Cal said to me in a worried tone, taking my hand in his and holding it firmly. He looked back at the moving rockets and tried to think of the best way to go through them. I, on the other hand, was staring at my hand in his. I didn't mind holding his hand at all. It gave me a sense of comfort even though we were so close to these dangerous rockets. It also felt good knowing he wanted to keep me from harm. He was definitely turning on his protective side right now. Staring from our hands to him, you could say I admired seeing him like this…

"I...don't want to see you get crushed either," I finally said, wondering why it took me so long to reply. Cal looked back at me and smiled.

"That's good to hear. I think we can get past these if we use the force wisely. If we slow the rockets down, we can have enough time to run through them and get to the other side."

"Hmm...Yeah that sounds like it could work," I said, "let's test how long we have first."

I walked up to the first rocket that was shooting out and in from the wall and held my hand out. I used the force to slow it down and started counting the seconds it took for it to revert back to its original speed.

1...2...3...4...5...boom!

"...Five seconds. Should be enough time for us to run past it. Want to run together?"

He grinned and nodded, squeezing my hand once more. The two of us waited for the rocket to shoot back into the wall before using the force on it and running to the other side. There were four rockets in total so we repeated this process three more times. At the end of it we were both out of breath but the exhilaration of surviving that ordeal was...well...exhilarating!

"Why is everything we encounter dangerous?" I asked, brushing the sweat from my forehead.

"I have no idea, but it keeps us light on our feet I guess,'' Cal replied with enthusiasm.

"Always thinking positive. I like that," I said with a smirk. He smiled and then his smile dropped when he looked at our hands, which were still together. His face got redder by the second and he dropped his hand from mine quickly, bringing it to the back of his neck.

"Oh! My bad! I didn't realize I had been holding your hand that long!"

He was so flustered right now. It was pretty cute, not gonna lie. All I did was giggle at him, which made him even more crimson in the face.

"I didn't mind it," I said once I was done laughing.

"O-Oh...okay, cool."

I beamed at him as reassurance that I truly didn't mind it and walked out of the vicinity of the rockets. The loud booming sound they kept making was giving me a headache. Just outside the rocket area was yet another slide of ice. At this point, I had already gone down two slides so what would another one do? I went ahead and jumped down on it, letting the ice guide me wherever the slide went. I heard Cal not far behind me. Up ahead, I had to jump to a ledge because the slide ended up going into a deep patch of darkness.

Cal landed next to me and we gazed at the corridor in front of us. The area around us was a cave with a narrow hallway leading us to where we needed to go. BD-1 projected his map to us as we walked through the corridor. The map showed a large area up to where we were going. Reaching the end of the cave's hallway, we entered a huge courtyard full of Zeffo statues and more of those huge mountain goats. Beyond the courtyard was a noticeable storm that made me subconsciously want to go to it.

"I have a feeling we're getting closer to that tomb," I said.

"Me too," the boy next to me said while he tapped BD-1 on the head. BD beeped happily and his little antennas moved back and forth. "...We should probably tell Cere about this."

Cal activated the comm connecting back to the Mantis and Cere answered after a few seconds.

"Cere, we've reached a courtyard with a storm ahead. Luna and I feel like something is there, we just don't know what. Maybe the tomb?"

"Go to it and let the force guide you. You two got this," she said, which gave me a small lift of confidence. Cal ended the comm call and stared at the storm.

"Alright, let's go to it...and keep away from those stupid goats."

I nodded and put my hand to my side, remembering how I basically got stabbed by one of their horns earlier. That hurt so freaking much. Good thing we have BD and healing stims with us. We traveled through the courtyard, making sure to stay clear of the dangerous goats in the area. While we were being stealthy, we noticed what looked like pot holes scattered all around the courtyard. Why were they there?

"We are officially goat-free now," Cal joked once we had made it to the other side of the courtyard. I snickered and saw that there was a crack in the wall that we could probably fit through. It would be a chore but we'll manage.

"Ugh, it's like I have to suck it in," I whined as I walked sideways into the crevice.

"Yeah, it's a tight fit for sure," he said behind me. The next minute just consisted of us grunting trying to get through this stupid crack, hoping not to get stuck along the way. Finally, after struggling profusely, we made it out.

"Whoa…"

The crease led to a room that contained a metal-looking ball that floated in the air. The cool part about it was that the storm we had seen back in the courtyard was causing objects and debris to circle around it. It almost acted as a defensive mechanism in case of intruders.

"I've never seen a storm like that before…" Cal muttered.

"I would be surprised if you did," I laughed, "...Back on my planet, we typically just got thunderstorms like the one that happened when we first met. Nothing too bad," I said. The memory of Cal offering me an umbrella ran through my mind and I smiled just thinking about it. He definitely gave me a great first impression.

"Ha, I remember buying an umbrella for whoever I found that day. I knew it would start pouring by the time I did find who I was looking for, which happened to be you."

Wow, I was thinking about the same thing. Sometimes, Cal and I will be thinking the same thing or we'll say something at the same time as if we're in sync.

"...On Bracca, it literally rains and storms every single day. I can't tell you how annoying that shit was. I'm just glad my skin hasn't fallen off from being wrinkly from being in the rain all the time," he said, staring at his hand.

"I'm very glad too," I said with relief. I looked back at the storm that was circling the metal ball and lifted my own hand up. Let's see if this works. I used the force to slow down the storm and it worked! The objects slowed down and were now barely moving around the ball we needed to get to.

"Nice."

We stepped over to the ball and there was an elevator that took us down deeper into the cave. As the elevator lowered, another Cordova message was triggered in BD-1's memory and his voice started speaking from the little robot.

"My friends, I believe this is the earliest Zeffo site we've uncovered yet. There's no telling what secrets are hidden in this tomb."

The message ended and Cal chose to tell Cere that we had made it.

"Cere, Luna and I are in the tomb. We're not exactly sure what we're supposed to find but Cordova seems really interested in what could be inside it."

Cere chuckled in response.

"Yes, he's extremely eccentric when it comes to things that interest him. I'm sure whatever's down there, it will be important to us."

She ended the call right around the time we reached the bottom of the elevator. One side gave us access to the tomb and the other side was a smaller platform with a hole in the middle of it. The hole looked like it was the same size and shape as the metal ball hovering in the elevator.

"Hmm...If only we could move that ball somehow. Do you remember how to force push?" Cal asked me. I bit my lip and felt my face flush.

"No, it's been so long."

"That's okay, I don't remember either," he said, giving me a smile so I wouldn't feel embarrassed. "...I'm sure we'll figure out some way to move the ball. In the meantime, you ready to explore this tomb?"

"You know it!" I yelled eagerly. BD-1 beeped, telling us he was ready to go as well.

We walked to the other side and went up some old-looking stairs. There was another crevice to slip through but what was next to it caught our eye. And not in a good way…

"Do you see that?" Cal whispered.

"Yes, it's super gross," I said. The thing in question was a large plant with thorns all over its body. It was shaped like a bloated balloon and it had two eyes on the top of it that stared at us. Creepy.

"I don't like you and I don't trust you," I told the plant before inserting myself into the crevice. Cal made one last sound of disgust and then followed behind me. There was a particularly tight spot in the crevice and I basically had to use all my strength to get through it. I really don't need Cal to see me sweating and grunting the way I am. I mean, he struggled with the spot too but still. Luckily, the tomb is cold so I'm not sweating as much as I would be if it was hot. BD beeped at me and I narrowed my eyes and pursed my lips in a pout.

"Yes, BD-1, I put on some deodorant before we left the ship."

"BD-1, that's not a very polite thing to ask a girl," Cal laughed. The robot beeped again and I tapped his head.

"Apology accepted. Umm…"

I looked out into the room we entered and there were more of those plant things just sitting around.

"...Can you scan those plants? I just want to know what they are."

BD-1 hopped off Cal's shoulder, scanned the plant, and then hopped back on.

"A skungus...Great name...A plant-like organism with a defensive explosive toxin that can cause them to explode when they feel threatened. So, stay away from these guys. Good to know," I observed.

"Except they're in our way…" Cal muttered with a groan.

"Something always is, it seems. We just have to be careful."

Cal and I got close together, single-file, and moved around the plant-like organisms. We jumped across multiple platforms, making sure we didn't touch them. Whenever we got close to them, they expanded in size and shook uncontrollably like they were going to explode any second.

"Oh, calm down, we're not gonna hurt you!" I snapped. Jumping off the rocky platforms, we landed inside a room with three rats lurking around. I ignited my light saber and killed one of them while Cal and BD killed the other two.

"Nice work, you two. Any idea what this room is for?"

"Nope. What's that BD? A switch?" Cal looked from his shoulder to the wall. A switch was placed next to a vent of some kind.

"I'm going to press it."

Cal walked over to the switch and pressed it slowly. Out of nowhere, the vent next to the switch began shooting strong gusts of wind that almost made me fly off my feet.

"Shit, sorry!"

"That's okay!" I yelled back, regaining my footing. "...This place is weird."

Cal shut the vent back off and jogged up to me.

"I'm not sure what the vents are for. We might figure it out later on but for now I think we should just keep going," I told him. He nodded in agreement. Much of the tomb was ancient-looking hallways and dusty statues covered in spiderwebs. I felt like I had to wipe my arms constantly. Cal noticed after the fifth time I did it and got that look in his eyes. The kind of look that let me know that he was about to offer me a poncho once again. He's determined, I'll give him that. I held my hand out before he could open his mouth.

"I'm okay. No poncho needed."

His eyes widened and then he smiled at me.

"How did you know I was going to offer you one?"

"You get a certain look in your eyes and a smirk on your face. It's quite easy to read now," I told him with a smirk of my own. He crossed his arms and looked down at the ground.

"Damn...you're too smart for me. BD and I will have to think of some different tactics to use on you."

I giggled and brushed some hair back that had fallen over my eyes.

"Whatever you come up with, it won't work. It's like you said, I'm too smart for you," I ended with a wink. He rolled his eyes at me and pointed up at the metal ball that was hanging from the ceiling. We had entered a new room so this was a different one from the one in the elevator. The ball hung in between two ledges and had a grip to cling to it, meaning we needed it to get to the other ledge. The good thing was that if we fell it wouldn't hurt since there was solid ground at the bottom. Not a bad fall at all.

"Alright then, since you're so smart, how do we get to the other side?" he asked. I looked from the ball and then to the room around us. There was a vent and switch next to us aimed at the ball. That's our first clue. I pressed the switch and a huge amount of air hit the ball, causing it to blow towards the other ledge. I turned it off and watched the ball to see if it would come back to us. It did but it didn't go back to the other side far enough. We would just end up falling to the ground if we tried to jump for it.

"Hmm…"

I thought for a minute and then pressed the switch on and off again. When the ball swung our way, I slowed it down with the force and jumped to it. Grabbing the grip, I waited until the ball went back to normal speed and anticipated the ball to reach the other side this time because the air was still blowing at it. I was correct and was able to get to the ledge by jumping off the ball. I looked back at Cal and he still had his arms crossed.

"Okay...You are super smart, Luna," he said in an astonished tone. I put my hands on my hips and looked at him proudly.

"Just a little critical-thinking is all."

"Right."

He followed my example and was soon standing next to me after jumping off the ball.

"Pretty neat puzzle."

"I think so too. The Zeffo had a lot of time on their hands."

BD beeped at that remark and made a joke only a robot would laugh at. Cal and I laughed anyway. Up ahead, a menacing statue was positioned in the doorway to the next room. When I noticed it, I almost jumped back.

"Holy crap, do you see that statue over there?"

Cal looked where I was staring and gripped his fists.

"Yeah...I have a bad feeling about it. I'll go check it out first."

He started walking and I grabbed his arm gently.

"You sure?"

He nodded with a smile and started up his lightsaber.

"Yeah! But if it starts attacking me, I'll probably need your help."

I smiled back and turned on my lightsaber as well.

"I'll be ready if it does."

Courageously, he walked up to the statue, who had to be at least seven feet tall. It appeared to be made out of the same metal as the ball we had just jumped off of. If I had to guess, it was a material the Zeffo loved to use. There was plenty of it in this tomb. Cal was a couple of feet from the statue now and he stretched his arm out to touch it. Before he could, the chest of the statue lit up and it began to move. It raised its fist at Cal and tried to punch him in the face.

"Son of a-!"

Cal reacted quick enough and was able to dash backwards from the statue's fist.

"Okay, okay I'm coming!" I yelled to him, fearing that the statue would attack Cal again.

"We were right to be cautious with it," he said with a small chuckle. I ran to his side and asked if he was okay.

"My heart might fly out of my chest but other than that I'm good!" he answered. I sighed in relief and then focused on the statue at hand. The way it was moving, it definitely wanted us dead. It tried to kick at us too but we jumped out of the way. Slashing at it, I could see the metal deteriorate so our attempts to disarm it were working.

"He's tough but he's beatable!" I told Cal. At this point, the statue decided to shoot a huge laser at us from its chest. The laser went all around the room and I had to dive out of the way to avoid getting hit. Okay, maybe he's not beatable...I hit the ground hard and grunted as I got up.

"You good!?" Cal asked from across the room. I gave him a thumbs up and watched as Cal slowed the statue with the force. This was our chance. We both went in on the statue and slashed him as much as we could. After a few seconds the force wore off and the statue dropped to its knees before falling to the ground for good. Both Cal and I were out of breath by this point but we didn't get hurt by the statue.

"BD says this thing's a tomb guardian. It's kind of cool that they are still able to guard the tomb after all this time. I mean, it's not cool that it attacked us but…"

"Yeah, I think so too. It's like they have eternal batteries or something like that. It makes me excited to find whatever Cordova wanted us to discover."

Cal went to say something but he suddenly shut his eyes like something was irritating him. I dropped my smile and stepped closer to him to see what was wrong. He looked towards the wall the tomb guardian had been guarding and stared at the middle of it. The wall was lined with cracks, as if there was something behind it.

"You alright, Cal?"

"Y-Yeah...I'm getting the same feeling I had back on Bogano...Right before we saw that vision of our masters teaching us how to wall run. It's coming from that wall over there."

"You think it's another flashback?" I asked, walking with him to the wall.

"Possibly. You ready for it if it is one?" He asked, knowing it took a toll on us last time.

"Yes, I wonder what lesson it will bring us back to this time."

Cal took a deep breath and then touched the spot on the wall that had been irritating him. He started acting the same way that he had back on Bogano and I knew we were right. It was another vision of the past. Taking a deep breath of my own, I touched his arm and found myself traveling back to the training room my master and I used to use.

Let's see what type of technique I'll relearn this time…


And that is the end of the chapter! I had some serious writer's block with this chapter so I'm sorry about that. The next chapter will finish Zeffo and then we'll move on to the next planet. Please review or comment on the story and let me know what you think so far. Those of you who have commented are awesome! I really appreciate it! Finally, thanks for reading and I'll see you guys next time!